Jack Thompson

John Bruce "Jack" Thompson is a former lawyer and an outspoken critic of video game violence. His stance against violent video games has made him notorious among the gaming community. He has frequently sought legal action against videogame companies, such as Take Two Interactive and Rockstar, who have published many violent games. He was disbarred in July 2008.[1] He has tried, with no success, to ban several games in franchises such as Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto. Critics of Thompson argue that he unfairly singles out video games over other media, such as literature and film, as a cause of violence, however it should be noted that he has campaigned against rap music.

In 2005, Thompson challenged the video game industry with a satirical offer to donate money to any specified charity if a developer created a game he described. The game would involve a father, whose son has been murdered by a violent video game addict, getting his own back on the makers of violent video games. He called this his "Modest Proposal". A small group of independent video game programmers created a game fitting the criteria to within Thompson's specifications, at which point he refused to donate the promised ten thousand dollars and claimed he was not serious in his initial offer. The two bloggers behind the video game-focused webcomic Penny Arcade donated the promised sum to a children's charity in lieu of Thompson. The video game created for Thompson's "Modest Proposal," created with faux-retro graphics and titled I'm OK, is available for free download online.